Well, your future groom may be supportive and all but like you, he’s also doing this for the first and only time so he may not be the best person to help you out here. Your mother? Your future in-laws? We’re pretty sure they have their own ideas on how you should do this but hey, it is your wedding, not theirs.

What you need is somebody who can turn your fairytale thoughts into lifetime memories. Somebody who can make your dream wedding come true. Somebody who has done this before and on numerous occasions. What you really need is a Wedding Planner.

Yes, no other person can make things, good things, happen for your big event. For the most part, the wedding planner is that trained professional consultant who meets with you and your future groom to discuss their vision for their wedding. This person discusses what you can and cannot do with your given budget and recommends the most suitable suppliers. He or she will also see to it that the contracted services of the chosen suppliers are promptly delivered.

For all of the many hats that the wedding planner will wear throughout the course of your wedding preparations, perhaps the most important hat is the one that ensures that everything runs smoothly—like clockwork as much as possible. This wedding planner is not just a mere assistant but is actually your right hand person and well, your best friend, at least until this is all over.

But how will you know if you’re getting the right person for the job? Weddings have become big business in the country that the industry is now replete with fly-by-night wedding planners who often lack both the experience and the training to deliver on most, if not all of the good things that they’ll usually promise.

"What you want to avoid is the consultant who tells you she did her own wedding and decided to start the business," says TopWeddings.com, a wedding resource website. "Too many times, this consultant is still full of the romantic and fun part of the process and has no clue about the brick and mortar it takes to build a wedding to accommodate someone else’s taste."

And that’s exactly why 16 qualified and duly registered wedding planners with years of experience between themselves have decided to bond together and form the Philippine Association of Wedding Planners. According to founding member and now president JP Montilla, it all started two years ago with a call from fellow wedding planner Celia Cunanan, now also the group’s chairman of the board.

"Celia wanted to get us all together because as article on ‘How Not To Hire A Wedding Coordinator’ was published," JP recalls. "The article was about this bride who really got mad at the wedding coordinator she hired and was warning soon-to-weds about hiring one."

"While we were discussing the article over coffee at Dome Café in Shangri-La mall, somebody proposed the idea of binding together as a group," adds Janice Taccad, the group’s vice president. "We all agreed that this association shall be composed of legitimate wedding planners whose primary focus of business is to plan and coordinate weddings."

With a vision statement that "pledges to uphold integrity and high standards of business ethics and advance the development of wedding planning business as a respected and honored profession," the PAWP is obviously committed in making this a better industry not only for fellow wedding planners but also for the ultimate end-users in the soon-to-weds themselves.

This is why for the second straight year, the PAWP is organizing a Wedding Planning and Coordination Seminar. Dubbed as "Learn it from the Professionals," the two-day workshop that takes place at the Edsa Shangrila Hotel from March 25 to 26 aims to train fellow wedding planners and coordinators, not only those who are new to the business and have yet to establish their legitimacy but even those who have the inclination of starting a career in this rapidly-growing industry.

"We can’t really stop them so we might as well train them," JP quips. "In this seminar, we show them the ropes of wedding planning and coordination including the legalities, proper way of dealing not only with Filipino but also Chinese and other foreign clients who come from different cultures," adds Bangs Zaldivar.

"The seminar is also reality-based in the sense that we give our participants case studies of actual situations that we ourselves have encountered in the course of our profession," says Jody Liwanag, who is also the organization’s secretary. "How to deal with things like interracial marriages and what to do on the wedding day itself are just a few of what’s in store for our participants in our seminar."

But while the seminar fee of P12,000 sounds pretty steep, JP argues that it is very reasonable in the sense that for upstart wedding planners, the fee already forms part of their capital and includes everything they need to get started right away. And yes, they are learning from some of the best wedding planners in the country who have pooled their resources together and are willing to share their respective trade secrets for the good of the entire industry itself.

As for membership in the group, any full-time and duly-registered wedding planner with at least three years of experience can join the PAWP for a one-time joining fee of P3,000 and an annual membership fee of P2,500.

So does membership in the association have its privileges? "Why, yes. We actually learn a lot from each other as well," says Bangs. "We don’t look at each other as stiff competitors because there are plenty of clients out there for everyone. On many occasions, we also help each other out. We do exchange notes and ask questions like ‘does anyone know a salsa dancer?’ or ‘how do you deal with uninvited guests like bodyguards of sponsors who also happen to be public officials?’ Things like that."

The Philippine Association of Wedding Planners seems like a tight bunch of pros who not only watch each other’s backs. These dedicated men and women are also here to welcome, help and nurture others in their profession. In many ways, soon-to-weds who hire the services of any PAWP member are in fact, getting more than what they bargained for. For the price of one wedding planner, the expertise and resources of an entire organization of wedding planners are pretty much part of the package as well. When you look at it this way, it’s really hard to imagine entrusting your dream wedding to anybody else.